A massive influx of applications was received on the first day after the announcement of the “On-Site Transformation Project,” which was launched to provide grants and financial support to people who desire to reconstruct their structures in quake-ravaged areas.
Within the scope of the project by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, construction and transformation offices were opened at 22 locations in the five provinces.
These offices will provide legal and financial counseling to those benefitting from the project.
A total of 850 independent units – including houses, workplaces, warehouses and shops – will be constructed, while this scale of the construction project is “equivalent to creating six cities,” Özhaseki stated in his speech during a groundbreaking ceremony in the quake-hit province of Hatay on July 17.
Noting that his ministry received many applications on the first day, Özhaseki added that more than 1,200 people applied to benefit from the project within one hour through e-Devlet, the Turkish official gateway offering governmental services.
Özhaseki also stated that they assigned one of the deputy ministers for this project, pledging that the ministry would closely monitor all processes from the start of construction to the settlement of the new residents.
“We will conduct all kinds of inspections from the beginning to the end of the project. We will rebuild Hatay and Antakya by its previous state,” the minister stated.
Two mobile trucks belonging to the ministry have also started providing information and promotion about the project in the region, he added.
Individuals who suffered losses in the earthquakes will be eligible for a grant of TL 500,000 ($19,000) for housing and TL 250,000 ($10,000) for workplaces, Özhaseki said.
Additionally, they can access interest-free loans ranging from TL 500,000 to 800,000 for residences and between TL 250,000 and 500,000 for workplaces. The loans will have a 10-year maturity period with a two-year grace period.
To address the housing needs of the affected residents, construction has commenced in reserve housing areas, away from the earthquake-prone zones, the minister assured, adding that the new houses would be ready for occupancy starting from October, with a planned completion of 319,000 houses within a year, to be handed over by next February.
Hüdai Kanlıkara, an applicant who wants to rebuild his three-story house and workplace, said: “My three-story house was heavily damaged, so I had it flattened myself so that it would not harm anyone. Now with this project, I am hopeful to rebuild my house myself again.”
Meanwhile, the ministry also carries out projects for earthquake-affected children to develop academic and socio-emotional capacities between the ages of 4 and 17 through academic and sociocultural studies in and out of school.
Among such projects, the “Expert Hands Project” of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which aims to attract young entrepreneurs trained in fields such as agriculture, livestock, forestry, food and aquaculture to the countryside, an additional budget of TL 75 million was given, benefiting graduates from faculties and vocational schools of universities.
Entrepreneurs whose applications are approved will be given 100% grant support up to TL 250,000 for the projects to be implemented in rural areas and neighborhoods.
